Time Two Save the World
by inteligencerles
Summary: Almost a year after the outbreak in China, Sherry is sent on another mission. But, it's exactly like Raccoon City. The only difference - this time it's a new, deadly virus, made from her blood. Can Sherry re-live the past? Can Jake save her, just as she saved him? And can their teammates deal with the truths that are presented to them? (A/N - Disclaimer. all rights to Capcom)
1. Chapter 1

He hadn't stopped thinking about her for a while; she played on his mind all the time, and her memory would never fad no matter what he did. He couldn't get her voice, her petit figure or her crystal blue eyes, out of his mind. It was starting to get too much. He'd text her every so often to see how she was, and even when she text back to say she was fine and holding up okay, he knew that she was trying to put on the same brave face she did in Edonia and (especially) Lashiang.

Jake sighed inwardly as he thought about how he felt for Sherry Birkin, and how no longer than a year ago he wouldn't have cared. But she had saved him after all. From being that man, and being who his father had been. He had been a cold-hearted, selfish bastard back then, not caring because he didn't want to be hurt ever again after his mother died.

It all seemed like a lifetime ago.

'Jake?' the voice on the other end of the line jumped him from his thoughts.

'Yeah Super Girl?' Jake forgot where their first actual conversation in weeks had gotten to.

'Are you still coming to Washington?'

'No, I'm going to L.A,' Jake sarcastically remarked, a smirk on his face as he could practically see her rolling her eyes on the other end of the phone.

'Just get here soon, wise ass.' He heard her smirking as he hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket. He walked out of his motel room, across the parking lot and to his Harley Davidson. He swung his leg over and started it up, feeling a real sense of joy run through him as he heard the engine purr. He revved it a few times before kicking the stand away and speeding off.

Sherry hung up the phone and got back to her paper work. She should have been finished the day before, but had at least another hours work. Hunnigan had given her a new field mission, but she had to finish all of her paperwork before and had to wait for her field-partner of choice to get there, before they got the briefing.

She sighed loudly as she continued with writing her reports and findings. She had typed them, spoken them, and now she had to hand-write and file all of them. She'd gotten into the office at around six that morning, just so that she could hopefully get it all done before her partner got there. It was now nine, and everyone was starting their shift. Sherry decided that it was as good a time as any to have a break and get a coffee. A strong one. She walked over to the coffee machine, got a cup and turned it on.

'Sherry!' A voice called to her from the right. She turned to see Leon, finally back from his first mission after China. He reached her as she got her coffee and asked, 'you're going on a field mission already?'

'How'd you find out?' Sherry asked, slightly surprised at the older agent's knowledge of the secret.

'Hunnigan,' he answered simply, with a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. But as he thought of something, his smile dropped instantly, and suddenly his expression was serious. 'Are you sure you're okay with this? You only got back from China eight months ago.'

'As did you.' Sherry counted, a smile tugging at her lips. 'I'll be fine Leon. I need to do this. The death of Simmons didn't help us for long.' Sherry felt a pang of both sadness and guilt as she thought about the death of her legal guardian, and disheartened at the memory of finding out who he really was. She even still felt as though she had betrayed Jake by not seeing what he was going to do sooner. She knew she was going to be experimented on – that seemed to be an unspoken part of the deal. But she had no idea that they were going to do so many similar teste on the mercenary.

'Sherry –'

'Plus, I'm sick of just sitting in an office doing paperwork and filing.' Sherry cut Leon off, not wanting anymore apologies from the agent for killing Simmons, as she knew it was the right thing to do, something that had to be done. She smiled and sighed as she realised that she had some work to do. 'I'll talk to you later Leon.' The older agent nodded as she turned and walked back to her desk, ready to finish her paperwork before her partner got there.

She sat down and sipped her coffee as she continued writing up her reports and other files for around another hour. When she was finally finished at just gone ten-thirty, she sighed and went to the cafeteria for some breakfast and a decent coffee. She paid for her coffee and just-warm croissant, and as she got back to her desk her phone rang.

'Sherry Birkin,' she answered, putting down her coffee and sighing inwardly. She still hadn't filed all her work or reported to Hunnigan.

'Hey Supergirl. Interrupting something?' Jake's voice said, coy and smug as it often was.

Sherry rolled her eyes before answering. 'Just paperwork. Unlike you, I have to do the boring work too.'

Jake laughed on the other end of the phone, obviously finding the fact amusing.

'What's up Jake?'

'Just thought I'd tell you I'm about five minutes away. Or don't you want me anymore?'

'I'll meet you out front then.' Sherry ended the call, not bothering to reply to Jake's remark. Of course she wanted him to come, she wanted to see him again, and she wanted to do more than just get to know him for who he really was…

The thought brought a slight blush to her cheeks, but the heat left immediately when she remembered the fact that may not happen.

Sherry got up from her chair and quickly filed her papers before going to the main lobby. The glass panes that made up the front of the buildings foyer reflected the late February light, causing Sherry to barely be able to see outside with the bright light in her eyes, but the black silhouette of a bike stood out amongst the cars in the parking lot.

Sherry walked out into the parking lot through the glass doors and straight over to the towering figure who looked straight back at her. Sherry felt real joy for the first time in a long while as she got closer to the figure, seeing his piercing blue eyes calm, unlike back in Edonia or China. Yet, those ice-blue eyes still brought back horrid memories she remembered and saw too clearly.

Jake noticed her smile waver slightly as she walked up to him, knowing that something was bugging her. But, he also knew that there was no point in prying, as she would always say she was fine and be done with it. End of story. She'd then change the subject to anything but herself.

'Hey Supergirl. Long time no see,' Jake said as she approached him, aware if the tired circles under her eyes,

'A whole eight months,' Sherry smiled again.

Jake opened his mouth to speak, but the familiar chime of Sherry's phone ringing cut him off. She pulled it from her pocket, throwing an apologetic smile towards Jake, before giving a questioning look at the phone. Jake chuckled slightly.

'Agent Birkin.'

'Has your partner arrived yet Sherry?' Hunnigan asked.

'Yes ma'am.'

'Have you finished and filed all of the repots yet?'

'Yes. I just sent them up to you.' She stopped and thought for a moment. 'Is there a problem ma'am?'

'Excellent. But I'm sorry to inform you that you will not be briefed today.'

'What? But ma'am –'

'I know Sherry. But this is a highly classified, highly _dangerous_ mission.' The emphasis the director of the D.S.O put on 'dangerous' sent shivers down Sherry's spine and set her nerves on edge. Jake noticed her tense her grip on her phone ever-so-slightly. 'I'm terribly sorry Agent Birkin. I have re-scheduled the briefing for tomorrow morning – you and your partner will have to be at my office for eleven a.m. If all of your paperwork has been sent up to me, you and your partner can leave.'

'Understood. Thank you ma'am.' Sherry hung up the phone with a sigh, then looked up at a puzzled Jake. 'Briefing's tomorrow. Sorry Jake.'

'No need,' Jake said, knowing that the conversation with her boss had stressed his older partner out.

'Do you need a place to stay? You can sleep on the couch.'

Jake thought about it for a moment, rubbing his chin in mock thought. 'I think I'll take you up on that.' He smiled as she smiled back at him, her cheeks slightly blushed.

'Oh!' Sherry suddenly remembered something. 'I just have to go back and get my bag. You coming?' Without waiting for an answer, Sherry turned and started to walk back to the doors, with Jake following behind her. They went to the elevator and up to the tenth floor, talking small talk for the 48 second trip. Sherry couldn't help but yawn frequently throughout the short trip, apologising every time she did. Jake shrugged it off, but couldn't quite understand why she was so tired when she had a temporary nine-to-five job. The thought was pushed aside though when the doors opened and there stood a familiar face.

'Hey Hero,' Jake said, a smirk on his face,

'The agent smiled back at him, and then firmly shook his outstretched hand. 'Nice to see you again Jake. You Sherry's partner for the mission?'

'Leon!' It's classified,' Sherry hissed from beside him, then she went to get her bag.

'Fill me in Leon.' Jake was serious, and Leon caught on. He placed his coffee on the nearest desk, paying his full attention to what the mercenary had to say. 'What's up with Sherry? She seems hell too tired to just be working on papers.'

Leon looked over to see that Sherry was already on the way back over, so quickly uttered the words 'Raccoon City.' He then took his coffee from the desk and started up another conversation. 'I hope you're not asking for $50 million again kid.' He joked as Sherry reached them.

'Don't give me that shit. Who do you think I am?' Jake said, mock hurt.

Leon chuckled slightly before replying, 'obviously not the cold-hearted Merc. I met in China.'

'You got that right.' The men smiled at each other, enjoying their little joke. 'See you around.' Leon nodded goodbye back before walking away.

The duo got back into the elevator and went back to the parking lot. They got to Jake's bike and he was about to mount it when he noticed that Sherry had stopped and seemed to be in deep thought. Jake studied her face and knew that she was thinking about something, or someone, close to her.

'Sherry?' She didn't react, but the grip on her bag tightened slightly. Jake walked around the bike to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder, looking down at the blonde with a slightly worried gaze. 'You okay?' he asked gently, his voice a whisper.

Sherry looked away for a moment before looking back, smiling up at the younger man, 'Yeah.' There was a slight paused before she said 'I really missed you Jake.'

The mercenary was taken by surprise for a moment. Not many people said that they'd missed him, and on no occasion had they been genuine – most of the time it was bullshit just to get him to come back. Jake was completely taken aback by the truth behind those words.

After a few moments, Jake regained his composure and smiled. 'C'mon Supergirl. Let's get going.' He then hopped onto his bike and Sherry got on behind him as he started up the engine.

Sherry directed him to her apartment, enjoying the rush of the wind in her boyish hair almost as much as holding onto Jake's waist. Unlike in China, she could enjoy the ride, and the fact that Jake most-probably taught himself to ride only phased her for a few seconds. She was having fun, and when they got to her apartment and parked the bike up, she didn't want to let go of the driver.


	2. Chapter 2

She'd been asleep for only a few hours, but the nightmare had already gotten to her and taken hold of her mind, and her before peaceful sleep. Before, she had a nice dream, one that she could sleep with – her and Jake. Just the two of them, doing things that people tended to do in cheesy movies. They went to the coast, the mall and on a long bike journey down a lonely highway.

However, too soon was the dream wiped away from her peaceful mind, along with any chance of her having a peaceful sleep. They arrived at Raccoon, and now Jake had vanished, evaporated into thin air. From then on, she dreamt of her father, her mother, Claire and Leon. She dreamt about her father's mutations, being implanted with the G embryo, her father's death and the knowledge that her mother had died too. Claire was present too, helping her and trying to get the both of them out…

She found Claire in a pool of blood – her blood. She was screaming; screaming for Sherry to find Leon and get out. She assured her that he would have the antidote, that he would get her out. That she was sorry. She was sorry that she couldn't protect her, as she breathed her last breath.

Sherry was moaning and moving in her sleep, yet she continued to slumber as did Jake. As she continued to turn in her now sweaty bed, the twelve-year-old girl within her mind ran around the underground facility, trying to find Leon and a way out. But the pain in her lower stomach prevented her from moving forward, and as it got worse she fell to the ground crying in pain, exhaustion and fear. She curled in on herself, her eyes tightly shut and her jaw clenched in pain. It had been a long night. Both her parents had died, and the woman who promised to get her out of here, to fight this with her, had died because of them.

She cried and wailed, the sound echoing off the empty walls and halls, as the pain intensified, blinding her. She started to scream, the pain becoming too much for the pre-teen until it finally ended. There was a small eruption of blood from her lower stomach, her skin and muscle and fat peeling back, almost flowering. A creature of some sort came out, no like a giant maggot, before the young Sherry passed out and died from blood loss.

Sherry woke up in a pool of her own sweat screaming. The nightmares had always been about Raccoon City since the incident occurred. But it never involved Claire dying, or herself. Her body shook as she continued to scream. She sat up, hugged her knees to her chest, and forced herself to stop screaming. She didn't want to wake the neighbours, _again_. A fresh sweat broke out on her brow as she heard the door to her bedroom opening, and quickly there was a figure stood against the light of the hall. It approached her, moving across the room in two strides. Sherry closed her eyes as a tear shed itself, and trailed down her cheek.

'Sherry?' Jake asked her as he gently sat on her bed. She lifted her head and looked at him, her body still trembling from the images she saw. No – from the images she felt. Jake gently pulled her in for a hug, stroking her boyish hair as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Sherry suddenly burst into tears, her eyes swollen from holding them in for too long. 'It's okay. I'm here now. Shh…' Jake calmly muttered into her hair, as he gently stroked it. Her cries became quiet and small as she started to calm down, but that didn't prevent Jake from being concerned. Her screams had been loud enough (thankfully not long enough), to wake the whole apartment block.

The young woman pulled away from Jake's chest after another couple of minutes, wiping her eyes and shaking her head slightly, embarrassed and ashamed. He kept her in his arms, not really wanting to let her go. And she didn't pull away either. Instead, she wrapped her arms tightly around him and looked into his ice-blue eyes, seeing them full of concern and worry.

'Thank you,' she whispered, before burying her face in the crook of his neck. Jake smiled slightly and held her tighter, then continued to stroke her hair. It was ironic – how she saved him all those months ago from becoming the man his father had been, and now it was his turn to save Sherry from her nightmares, from the troubling images of the past that continued to influence her life.

That was how he knew he had to ask a question that might make her upset again, might stop her from trusting her, and might stop what they had at that moment, but might also relieve some of her fear and sadness. He sighed and pulled away from her slightly, before sighing again and finally asking.

'It was Raccoon City, wasn't it?'

Sherry tensed, her shoulders rising and her breath catching. Some sort of dread filled her at his knowledge of the incident, and how it haunted her. She knew that he could always tell she wasn't always in the right frame of mind, no matter how hard she tried, but she was sure he never knew they were due to something provoking the memories of the torturous night. She had spoken about the incident, back in that cabin over a year ago.

She had told him a few things that had happened, and he had been in contact with others on the occasion, so he could have any information he wanted from them. She realised that he had never asked about what happened in much detail, or about their fathers and their relationship. Their fathers had been close, and the thought made Sherry think that he might not want to know about that. He might have even already had his own ideas, especially after her reaction when he asked about him in the underwater facility.

The way Sherry tensed and her silence seemed to give Jake a good idea of the answer to his question.

He looked at the digital clock on the bedside table to see that it was only two a.m. This made the need for him to go back to the couch and get some extra shut-eye a good idea. 'Try to get some more sleep Supergirl,' he whispered, and she nodded before reluctantly letting go of Jake and laying down. Jake quickly got up and left, leaving the bedroom door ajar as he went back down the hall to the living area. He laid on the couch and fell asleep sooner than expected.

Jake drifted off into a calm sleep, not having nightmares of past missions, his mother's death or the faces of those he'd killed. He had lucid dreams that ravelled into one, about his mother and Sherry getting on, talking amongst themselves as women tended to. He just sat there, in the beaten up armchair that sat in the corner of his older living room, watching them, enjoying the idea that his mother was still alive - if only for an hour or so, and in his subconscious. He also felt quite uplifted by the additional idea that the woman he felt he'd soon know so well, was getting along with the only real family member he had. It helped him realise just how much he truly wanted her to be his, and how much she needed his help.

He _could_ help her.

He realised how much he meant to her.

Jake's time of pleasant dreams and sleep was interrupted by a muffled scream and muted whimpering. He knew instantly where it came from and ran down the small corridor to the bedroom at the very end. He didn't pause as he ran through the door and straight to the bed, where a startled Sherry lay.

'You _died_ Jake!' Sherry shouted, before bursting into tears, her body hunched and heaving with every new sob to wave over her.

Jake quickly went over to her and laid next to her, enveloped her in his arms and pulled her close to his chest. He rested his chin gently on the top of her head, then slowly rubbed his hand up and down Sherry's back. He made the same soft, cooing noises he did the last time she woke screaming and held her tighter, even though he was fully aware that it wouldn't stop the pain the older woman was feeling.

She explained, through tears, that he had died trying to protect her from the Ustanak they faced, and told him how he efforts were clearly in vain as the images plagued her mind; the claw reaching out towards her, Jake pushing her away, and the way one pointed edge of the claw ripped through his abdomen. She had just cried over his dying body, as Ustanak came over and finished the job.

'I'm still here, aren't I?' Jake looked down at her, love and worry for her all over his face. Sherry noticed that his usually cold eyes were softer, the blue of his eyes seeming slightly darker, warmer. 'We saved each other back there with that bastard. And I wasn't going to leave you like that.'

Sherry met his eyes with her watery ones before asking, 'would you leave me like that?'

'Of course not!' Jake tightened his arms around her waist, slightly annoyed by the question. There wasn't the slightest chance of that happening as long as he could help it. They looked into each other's eyes, holding their gaze for a long moment. Then Sherry quickly moved her face closer to his and kissed his cheek. She pulled back and looked into his eyes, a slight, shy blush covering her cheeks.

Jake seemed slightly shocked. Sherry realised, looked away, now feeling unsure and very embarrassed. She gently started to pull away before Jake tightened his grip on her waist, just enough to keep her from moving away from him anymore.

She looked up at him, and it was her turn to be shocked. And before she could process what was happening, Jake dipped his head and lifted her chin. He cupped her cheek in his hand and wiped away a lone tear with his thumb. He then moved his face closer to the older woman's and joined his lips with hers.

The kiss was tender, and only lasted a few seconds, but to the couple it seemed like a lifetime.

Jake pulled away and looked back down at Sherry's delicate face, very amused by the smile and blush that slowly crept onto it. 'You should get some sleep,' Jake whispered into her ear gently. She nodded, feeling as though she could sleep soundly in his strong, warm arms. Sherry buried her head in Jake's chest and closed her eyes, laying her right arm over his muscular, broad chest and the other under her cheek. Jake smiled softly as he watched her drift to sleep, and decided that he should join her in the land of dreams.

As he was almost asleep, Jake barely heard the muttered 'goodnight Jake,' that made it out of Sherry's soft lips.

'Goodnight Supergirl,' Jake managed to reply before finally falling to sleep.

The alarm buzzed beside Sherry's ear, causing her to instantly sit up and do a sweep of the room. She realised then that it was the alarm, sighed and turned it off. It was only seven a.m, and laid back when she remembered that the two of them weren't needed for the briefing until eleven.

There was no chance she was getting up any time soon anyway. Jake groaned, wrapped his arm back around Sherry's waist and pulled her nearer to him. She giggled as she turned and snuggled into him, wrapping her arms around his chest.

Jake smiled and kissed her forehead, happy that she had finally slept soundly with no nightmares. He tightened his grip around her and stroked her back gently, knowing from the slight shudders rippling her body that he'd got it right.

Sherry thought for a moment as Jake dozed off. She thought about their mission and whether asking Jake to be her partner was a good idea. They now had the predicament of being romantically interested in each other, and that could affect how they react and their actions when they are on the mission. She could have just asked Leon, as he was a skilled and highly trained _agent_ – he had been professionally trained for missions like this. As she hadn't been on a mission with him, in the field with him by her side, despite him saving her in Raccoon City, she couldn't trust him in the field. But she had worked with Jake, now trusting him with her life more than anyone else. Yet, questions still running in her head, showing her doubts. What if he was killed? What if she can't save him this time? What if she lost herself half-way through, like she very almost did in the underwater facility?

What if…?

'Sherry?' Jake said, lifting her chin and looking down at her softly. 'What are you thinking about?'

She had the same perplexed look in her eyes as the day before, and it worried him. He was scared he was going to lose her.

'Nothing,' Sherry answered, before closing her eyes.


End file.
